Ilona Krzywicka

Born in Szczecin, she is a graduate of the PSM II in the class of Iwona Górewicz. She graduated with honors from the Academy of Music in Poznań (class of Prof. G. Flicińska-Panfil) and then perfected her skills at the Atelier Lyrique of the National Opera in Paris. Her three-year contract at the Paris Opera culminated in the prestigious Prix Lyrique L’AROP 2012 award (best soloist of the season). She honed her vocal technique under the guidance of the outstanding singer Prof. Teresa Żylis-Gara.

She made her stage debut in 2008 in the title role of Moniuszko's „Halka” during an open-air performance at the Radziejowice Palace. In 2019, she returned to the role of Halka, performing it at the Grand Theatre-National Opera in Warsaw, directed by Agnieszka Glińska and conducted by Łukasz Borowicz. The performance was recorded and is available on the vod.teatrwielki.pl platform.

From 2009 to 2025, she performed at venues including the Opéra Bastille and Palais Garnier in Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, Staatstheater Cottbus, Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Theater Heilbronn, Janáček Theatre in Brno, Grand Theatre-National Opera in Warsaw, Brandenburger Theater, Grand Theatre in Poznań, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Wrocław Opera, Podlasie Opera, Baltic Opera, Castle Opera in Szczecin, and Kraków Opera. She has also performed in concerts at philharmonics in Poland, as well as at Villa Medici in Rome, L’Auditori in Barcelona, and in the UK, Greece, France, Russia, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, and Thailand. She is a laureate of many national and international competitions.

Her repertoire includes the roles of: Cio-Cio-San („Madama Butterfly” G. Puccini), Jenufa („Jenufa” L. Janáček), Mimi and Musetta („La bohème”, G. Puccini), Aida („Aida”, G. Verdi), Tatiana („Eugene Onegin”, P. Tchaikovsky), Rusalka („Rusalka”, A. Dvořak), Micaela („Carmen”, G. Bizet), Maria („Mazeppa”, P. Tchaikovsky), Marguerite („Faust”, C. Gounod), Sylva („The Csárdás Princess” I. Kalman), Mrs Ann Maurrant („Street Scene”, K. Weill) Mirandolina („Mirandolina”, B. Martiů), and Mozart’s: Contessa Almaviva („Le nozze di Figaro”), Donna Anna („Don Giovanni”), Pamina and First Lady („The Magic Flute”), Arminda („La finta giardiniera”), Eurydice („Orpheus and Eurydice”, K. Gluck).

The artist also performs cantata and oratorio music, as well as songs. Her repertoire includes remarkable works such as W. A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass KV 317 and Requiem in D minor, Shostakovich’s „14th Symphony”, Gorczycki’s „Completorium”, „Stabat Mater” by J. Haydn, G. Rossini, A. Dvořak, G. B. Pergolesi, and L. Boccherini, Massenet’s „La Vierge”, Bernstein’s „Kaddish Symphony No. 3”, Kilar’s „Angelus”, and „Requiem” by J. Brahms and A. Schnittke, as well as Beethoven’s „Egmont” and „9th Symphony”.

In December 2023, the artist participated in the premiere of P. Moss's „Te Deum” at the Podkarpacka Philharmonic, and in October 2024, she premiered his „Lyrical Symphony” with French poetry at the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic.

In May 2025, she performed at the 80th anniversary of the Silesian Philharmonic at Spodek in Katowice, where she and 1000 other artists performed Mahler’s „Symphony No. 8” (as the second soprano). The concert is available on medici.tv. Her first solo album featuring the most beautiful pieces, „Ave Maria”, with the wonderful pianist Michał Francuz, was recently released.

Photo: Ilona Krzywicka
Credit: Kinga Karpati & Daniel Zarevicz